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The 15th Torneo Internacional de Ajedrez Ciudad de Linares was held from February 22nd to March 9th in Linares. Seven of the world's top players competed in a double round robin format (14 rounds, one bye each round). They were: World Champion Garry Kasparov (Elo ranked #1 in the world), Vladimir Kramnik (#2), Vishwanathan Anand (#3), Veselin Topalov (#4), Vassily Ivanchuk (#4), Alexei Shirov (#8), and Peter Svidler (#9). As usual, Kasparov was assisted by Yury Dokhoian. Kramnik was helped by Sergey Dolmatov, Anand by Elizbar Ubilava, Shirov by Emil Davidovich Sutovsky, Ivanchuk by a couple of Ukrainians, Svidler by Nigel Short, and Topalov by Silvio Danailov. At the opening ceremony, the organizer Luis Rentero Suarez and Kasparov announced the formation of the World Chess Council. This would arrange the selection of a challenger for Kasparov, who had departed from FIDE in 1993. They envisaged a match between Anand and Kramnik (but Anand felt bound by a contract with FIDE and it ended up with the Shirov - Kramnik WCC Candidates Match (1998)). The players commented on this only after the tournament, which started in Hotel Anibal as usual. With a performance rating of 2840, Anand won in Linares for the first time (he won also in 2007 and 2008). Kasparov beat Anand in their individual game but did worse than expected. He had a cold during the event, and possibly saved some opening ideas for an upcoming WC match. His eleven draws upset Rentero, who at the end of Round 12 fined him with 500,000 pesetas for offering draw prior to move 40. Shirov had one of his best tournaments, and won a brilliancy prize for Topalov vs Shirov, 1998 (Round 10): 
click for larger view47...Bh3!! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoP...) Linares, Spain, 22 February - 9 March 1998 Age Elo 01 02 03 04 05 06 07
1 Anand 28 2770 ** 1½ ½½ 0½ 1½ ½1 ½1 7½
2 Shirov 25 2710 0½ ** ½1 ½½ 10 10 11 7
3 Kramnik 22 2790 ½½ ½0 ** ½½ ½1 ½½ 1½ 6½
4 Kasparov 34 2825 1½ ½½ ½½ ** ½½ ½½ ½½ 6½
5 Svidler 21 2690 0½ 01 ½0 ½½ ** 10 ½1 5½
6 Ivanchuk 28 2740 ½0 01 ½½ ½½ 01 ** 0½ 5
7 Topalov 22 2740 ½0 00 0½ ½½ ½0 1½ ** 4
Category: XXI (2752). Arbiter: Juan Vargas.There is a tournament book: Linares '98, by Alfonso Romero Holmes (La Casa del Ajedrez, Madrid 1998. 186 pp.) Sources
TeleSchach, Linares 1998 page (http://teleschach.de/berichte/linar...)
Mark Crowther in TWIC 172 (http://theweekinchess.com/html/twic...)
Mark Crowther in TWIC 174 (http://theweekinchess.com/html/twic...)
FIDE rating list January 1998 (http://www.olimpbase.org/Elo/Elo199...)
El Mundo Deportivo, 1 March 1998, p. 55 (http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.co...)
Tidskrift för Schack, March 1998, pp. 130-140 (http://www.schack.se/tfsarkiv/histo...)
Robert Eugene Byrne in New York Times, 14 April 1998 (https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/14/...)
Roman Toran Albero in Ocho x Ocho 192 (April 1998), pp. 4-24 (https://www.scribd.com/document/730...) Original collection: Game Collection: Linares 1998, by User: suenteus po 147. Text modified June 2018 by User: Tabanus. Round dates: February 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, March 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 (from Ocho x Ocho and El Mundo Deportivo). Previous: Linares (1997). Next: Linares (1999)
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Kibitzing
